[John]

I don't grow them because I don't like the taste 

You're just weird! 

[mumofstig]

I don't grow them because I don't like the taste 

You're just weird! 

Maybe 

[Growster...]

I like them with a cheese sauce, like a 'Bean Mornay'...

In fact, any veg does well with a smattering of the old fermented curd, like today, with brocolli!

(Mumofstig got me onto that idea some years ago)!

[cc]

I assumed the rule is
Picked young when beans are just forming no need to peel.
Picked when the beans are fully formed, peel?
This is first year for growing them.
Am I right?

[John]

I assumed the rule is
Picked young when beans are just forming no need to peel.
Picked when the beans are fully formed, peel?
This is first year for growing them.
Am I right?

It really depends on your tastes - personally I prefer them as they come but some, as you can see above, like them peeled.

[GraciesGran]

We both like broad beans have they have to be picked when they are tiny otherwise the skins are leathery.  They also need  lots of black pepper and a dollop of butter

[Learnerlady]

Hi, we eat shelled with skins on but some chefs/gardeners say pick young and eat in the pods, grow Sutton so sowin more plants this year to try, or am I wasting my time?

[New shoot]

Hi, we eat shelled with skins on but some chefs/gardeners say pick young and eat in the pods, grow Sutton so sowin more plants this year to try, or am I wasting my time?

They are edible but not everyone likes them.  I love broad beans but not in pods.  It is worth trying but pick them very small would be my advice.  The fluff inside starts developing quite early on and furry food is not that great 

[Swing Swang]

Skins on and cooked Portuguese style with chourico and morcela (continental blood sausage) and seasoned with coriander

[Subversive_plot]

I think the broad (fava) beans I had as a child were all prepared from dried beans.  I can't ever recall seeing the fresh ones in typical supermarkets here. Maybe regionally and seasonally available in the USA?  We might get them in large cities, in markets that have a broader selection of produce. If I ever come across some fresh ones, I'll give them a try again.

Maybe broad beans are something that you could grow as a spring-summer crop in our Pacific Northwest, or possibly Maine, where spring-summer stays cooler after the thaw.  I've read that broad beans need an 80 to 100 day growing season, and will grow in temperatures as low as 40°F (4.4°C) and as warm as 75°F (24°C); we went outside of both ends of that temperature range just this week  !  Our typical spring goes from hard freezes to above 30 C in 2 months  , and the reverse is true in the fall.  One expert on Georgia gardening (Walter Reeves) indicates that he is unaware of anyone succeeding with them here  .

Blackeyed peas or butter beans anyone?

[missmoneypenny]

I grow Bunyards Exhibition and always peel. Love the bright green colour in a  risotto.